


The Eyes Don't Lie

by blutterfly



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 11:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12681252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blutterfly/pseuds/blutterfly
Summary: Riku has been training Lea and Kairi in order to make then stronger for the war that was going to happen soon. During these endless training, Riku and Lea had developed strong feelings for each other, but they're both denying them.





	The Eyes Don't Lie

It's been four months, now, that the two red-haired new Keyblade wielders had joined Master Yen Sid to learn the proper way to use their weapon. The old Master had requested the young Master, Riku, to help him train his new students since they already knew each other. Even though he didn't trust Lea in the beginning, the silver-haired couldn't refuse; as he was now a Keyblade wielder, the red-haired man had to be in training.

*

The first days were fine: Riku started to explain the basics, they did a lot of workout since they need to have a healthy body, and they started to learn some moves. But after several day, Lea's personality came back. He was pretty quiet in the beginning, but once he learned how to fight with a Keyblade, he started to show off and he got cocky. The silver-haired man didn't like that attitude; this was a serious training, for an important fight, and he didn't want to lose his time.

"So... Axel," he started, saying 'Axel' louder than the other words, as he was slowly losing his patience. "Since you have 'progressed so much,' like you say, perhaps you would like to see how it goes in a real fight?"

As expected, the red headed heard the 'Axel' and he felt a bit of anger coming to him. He had repeated at least a thousand times that he was now Lea, not Axel, but L-e-a. But in this instant, he tried not to give in to anger, he knew Riku was only teasing him.

"Alright, alright." He agreed. "But don't start crying when you'll realise that I'm now stronger than you."

"Hmpf." A smirk appeared on Riku's face. "I want you to fight Kairi."

The red-haired girl who had been silently watching the two men was now ready to fight. She had been a quiet and listening student and she never had a new opportunity to fight, thus she was rather excited. Even though Lea apologised for what he did to her as his Nobody, she was ready to make him wipe the floor.

"What? You're too scared that you're sending this poor girl getting hurt? That's not really... Something a Keyblade Master would do." Lea said, a smile on his face, as he was sure that he was winning this little verbal fight.

"Oh, no." Riku answered with a confident smile on his face. "I'm actually too scared to make YOU wipe the floor. Or worse. Plus, you're the students and I am the teacher. I want to see how you fight so I can improve my teaching. But I'm sure Kairi is strong enough for you... perhaps she is stronger than you."

The two red-haired students took their combat position and the fight started when Riku gave the signal. The silver-haired was surprised by how good both of his students were, he hadn't expected this. But as he expected, Lea's recklessness gave Kairi a chance to win the fight. The former Nobody ended up on the ground, his Keyblade out of reach, and Kairi was standing up and pointing her weapon at him, with a huge smile on her face.

*

Days have passed and Riku kept calling Lea 'Axel' so often that it became a habit. The red headed got used to being called by his Nobody name, but he didn't mind. On the contrary, he teased his teacher as well. Kairi, who was outside of these little fights, thought it was pretty funny. She was always laughing because they looked like children. She even came to think of them as two lovers who were denying their feelings for each other.

"What?!" The two men said after the girl accidentally told the both of them about the impression they were giving her.

"Ew! Gross! Me and him? Never gonna happen. Nope." Lea said, with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Kairi, are you out of your mind? He's... He's him. How could I ever even like him? Just thinking about him that way makes me shiver." Riku replied, looking away.

The red-haired girl couldn't stop laughing. The two men were both looking away and their cheeks had become slightly red, which made the whole situation even funnier to Kairi. Her two friends started to feel offended and, since the lesson of the day was now over, they both decided to walk away. Of course, they left towards different directions.

**But no one had expected them to meet each other later that day.**

*

Riku was sitting on his chair, looking through the window above his desk. He watched the clouds moving, the sun going down. He couldn't stop thinking about what Kairi said earlier. About him having feelings for Lea. No, it couldn't be, he told himself as he shook his head in order to make the thoughts leave his mind.

But they never left, they always came back. The silver-haired closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. Since the thoughts wouldn't go, he decided to look into it. He decided to dive into his heart and look for his deepest desire. There. The picture of a man with green eyes and red, spiky hair appeared to him. Lea.

But the picture didn't came alone, Riku started to feel sadness and tears coming to him as fast as lightning. His eyes were closed, he was biting his bottom lip, trying not to let the tears out. He had denied his feelings for his student for a long time. And he couldn't let them out, not now. He knew this would be impossible, he knew the red-headed wouldn't feel the same way. He knew this was going to be painful. Opening himself was not an option.

But suddenly, he thought about his best friend, Sora. What would Sora do, he asked himself. The brown-haired kid was always happy and smiling, always thinking positively. Perhaps Riku could try that as well. Being positive. Listening to his heart. At least, he could get this off his chest if he told Lea.

The silver-haired took another deep breath. His fists were clenched, he was fighting his own brain. He wanted to tell Lea, he wanted to do that so badly. But he had to fight himself first. You're gonna be fine, he said to himself. Things are going to be fine.

Without realising it, Riku had stood up and left his room. He was now running down the stairs, towards the red-haired man's room. He needed to say it. He needed to say something before it was too late. He couldn't keep this to himself and had to say something.

*

Lea was in his room, lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. What the hell, he was thinking. His mind was wandering back to earlier that day, when Kairi mentioned the fact that him and Riku looked like two people... in love. She was so wrong, he told himself. He turned to his side.

Though, he couldn't help but think about the young Keyblade Master. Everytime he closed his eyes, the silver-haired man came to his mind. But then, he remembered how he treats him during the lessons. Always calling him 'Axel.' I'm not Axel, the former Nobody wanted to shout. He sighed and rolled to be on his back. He put his hands on his face. What should I do, he asked himself.

*

When the Keyblade Master arrived in front of his student's room, he hesitated. Once again, he took the time to breathe and slowly knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" The voice inside said, as if the man outside the room was interrupting something; in this case, the red-haired's thoughts.

"Uh, it's Riku. Can I... can I come in? I need to talk to you for a sec."

"Y-Yeah, sure." Lea seemed to be confused. After all, Riku never had any reason to go talk to Lea in his room.

The silver-haired slowly opened the door and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Damn it, his hands were sweaty, his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode any time soon. He couldn't look the other man into the eyes, he could only look at his feet.

"Uh, Lea, I- There's something I'd like to tell you." Riku said, stuttering a lot.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's not Ax-" The red-haired stopped talking and looked at the Keyblade Master, blinking several times. The man in front of him was now glaring at him because of what he was about to say. "Wait. You actually called me Lea, you never do. Is there something wrong?"

"I- Um... How do I say this? You know, what Kairi said earlier, maybe it wasn't just an impression." Riku replied, lowering his voice on the last words.

"What? Could you speak up?" Lea asked, a bit more aggressive than how he wanted to sound.

The Master clenched his fists. Come on, do it, he told himself. You're here now, it's too late to go back. He looked the red-haired man in the eyes and started to speak.

"I think... I think I have feelings for you."

"What?" Lea said after a few seconds. "I don't understand... what?"

"Ugh, nevermind." The young Master answered. This wasn't a good idea, he should have never told him. Maybe if he could just leave, this awkward situation would stop. But he still felt a pinch in his heart.

"You have feelings for me?" The red-haired sounded aggressive, but also a bit hurt. Had Riku figured out his feelings? Did he want to prank him? "Is that a joke? 'Cause if it is, it's not funny."

"N-no, it's not." Riku replied, frowning. He was now confused, he wasn't expecting this kind of reaction and he didn't know what to do. "W-what- why do you think this is a joke? I'm- I'm really serious..."

"Are you pranking me with Kairi? Is she outside? Kairi! You can come in!" Lea said, loosing his patience. What was the meaning of this.

"Lea, Kairi isn't here. It's me, just me. And it is not a prank." The young Master tried to pull himself together, he needed to stay strong. "I'm serious. Why don't you believe me?"

"'Why,' you say? Isn't it obvious? After all these months spent with you, trying to be your friend. After everything I've done. I know I'm not perfect, I know I've made a lot of mistakes. But I'm trying to learn from them, I'm trying to mend my mistakes. But you keep treating me like... like a sock. And you call me 'Axel.' I'm not Axel."

"What are you talking about? We have forgiven you, you're a part of the group now. Ask Kairi, ask Sora, ask anyone else. They all appreciate you. You're not Axel, not anymore. You're Lea and everyone knows that."

"But what about you?" Lea asked.

"What?" Once again, Riku didn't know how to reply.

"You say they all appreciate me, but what about you?" The red-haired man was looking at the ground and the silence that took place for a few seconds felt like an eternity to him. He didn't dare looking at Riku's eyes, too afraid to realise the truth that this is truly a prank. "You know what? Nevermind. This is just like... like what happened with Roxas." A fake smile appeared on his face. "I guess I'm doomed, I will only get hurt more and more."

Without looking at the silver-haired man, Lea walked to his door and left his room. Riku stayed there for a few moments. He was not moving, he was looking at nothing, staring into the void. He didn't understand what had just happened, he didn't know how to react. But he was serious about his feelings, and Lea not believing him made him feel like his heart had been ripped apart.

**"If only you had looked into my eyes..."**


End file.
